Ramallah – Media Office:
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club confirmed that the number of Palestinian female prisoners in the occupation prisons has risen to 47, amid a serious escalation in the pace of systematic violations and crimes carried out by the prison administration against them since the beginning of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.
In a statement, the Prisoners’ Club clarified that the female detainees are facing harsh detention conditions that involve grave violations, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, strip searches, and confinement in cells lacking basic sanitary conditions. The statement emphasized that repression, abuse, and humiliation have become systematic policies, through which the occupation seeks to break the will of the prisoners and undermine their dignity.
The Club pointed out that the field visit results conducted in the second half of May to a number of female prisoners confirmed the continuation of violations in all forms, with no noticeable improvement in detention conditions — especially concerning the deterioration of the health of some detainees, including those suffering from chronic illnesses and in urgent need of medical attention.
The statement highlighted the case of the prisoner Fidaa Assaf, from Qalqilya, detained since February 2015, who suffers from leukemia. Her health condition continues to worsen due to the harsh conditions of detention and the lack of appropriate medical care. Recent tests conducted for her at Rambam Hospital in the occupied territories revealed that her health has reached a critical stage, requiring intensive treatment. Nevertheless, the occupation continues to detain her under the pretext of “incitement.”
The Club also addressed the case of the prisoner Haneen Jaber, from Tulkarm, the mother of two martyrs, detained since December 2024, and it was discovered after her arrest that she has a tumor in her breast, and is in urgent need of medical care outside the prison, which the occupation refuses to provide.
In the context of continuous assaults, the Club noted that the prisoner Carmel Khawaja was physically assaulted by a female prison guard during a collective repression operation carried out in the women’s section in May. She was placed in isolation, and collective punishments were imposed, including banning all female prisoners from going out for recreation, as part of a systematic policy of psychological and physical pressure.
The Club documented horrifying testimonies from detainees about the conditions of their arrest and detention. One of the prisoners, identified by the initials S.W., stated that she was subjected to insults, swearing, being denied access to the bathroom, starvation, shackling, and physical assault during her arrest and during transfers between Hasharon and Damon prisons. She confirmed that repression and deprivation of the most basic rights have become a daily reality for the female prisoners.
The Club emphasized that the majority of female detainees suffer from a policy of systematic starvation, where small quantities of poor-quality food are provided, resulting in health issues, particularly digestive problems and significant weight loss.
Numbers and facts about female detainees:
- Since the beginning of the genocide, about 545 Palestinian women have been arrested, not including the detainees from the Gaza Strip, whose numbers are estimated to be in the dozens.
- Among the detainees are lawyers, journalists, university students, teachers, mothers, and sisters of prisoners and martyrs.
- Some of them were arrested as hostages to pressure their wanted family members.
- There are currently 47 female prisoners, including a minor and two pregnant women in their fifth month.
- 8 detainees are being held under administrative detention without charge, under the pretext of secret files.
- Most women are being held on charges of “incitement on social media.”
- Two of the detainees are from the Gaza Strip.
The Prisoners’ Club stressed that these violations are a continuation of the occupation’s historical policy against Palestinian women detainees, but now in a more brutal and savage manner, given the scale and intensity of the crimes.
At the end of its statement, the Club renewed its call to the international community and human rights organizations to act urgently and take practical steps to hold the occupation leaders accountable for their escalating war crimes, to impose sanctions that would end this impunity, and to break the international silence surrounding the suffering of the prisoners and detainees in the occupation’s prisons.
